Ulysses S. Grant
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South Florida Railroad
The South Florida Railroad was incorporated on October 16, 1878, by E. W. Henck, E.F. Crafts, H. Mercer, and Dr. C.C. Haskell, all of Orange County, Florida. These men hired F. C. Tucker as chief engineer, and he located a line running from Lake Monroe (on the St. Johns River) at Sanford to Orlando. The road was projected to run down the state to Charlotte Harbor on the Gulf of Mexico. The South Florida RR was having trouble raising money, but when Mr. Henck obtained the charter of the defunct LM&O, the project could go forward. E.W. Henck had a…
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Founding of the Longwood Historic Society
We owe much to the great Civil War general and our 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant. He never spent more than a day in Seminole County. The closest he came was a ceremonial visit to Sanford in 1879 to turn the first spade in the construction of the South Florida Railroad. Despite this, without him, it is likely the Longwood Historic Society would not exist, and the face of the Longwood Historic District would be dramatically different. It all started with a creative realtor. After the death of the Altamonte Springs home’s owner, Mrs. Bradlee, in 1946, the realtor decided…